US5339098A

US5339098A - Liquid discharge recording apparatus having apparatus for effecting preparatory emission

Info

Publication number: US5339098A
Application number: US07/914,029
Authority: US
Inventors: Akira Nagatomo; Yoshifumi Hattori; Isao Ebisawa; Tsutomu Abe; Takashi Ohba; Hiroshi Iida; Kenjiro Watanabe
Original assignee: Canon Inc
Current assignee: Canon Inc
Priority date: 1984-02-21
Filing date: 1992-07-15
Publication date: 1994-08-16
Anticipated expiration: 2011-08-16

Abstract

A liquid-discharge recording apparatus such as an ink-jet printer comprises: a liquid-discharge recording unit having an emission energy generating device including an electrothermal energy converting device which can heat a recording liquid such as an ink to form liquid droplets in response to an electrical signal, in which this recording unit emits the liquid droplets and deposits them on a recording paper and thereby recording thereon; a recording unit control circuit which can set and supplies the electrical signal to form the liquid droplets to the emission energy generating device in response to a recording signal; and an emission controller for setting the electrical signal to form the liquid droplets to the recording unit control circuit when a power supply is turned on, thereby allowing the recording unit to emit the liquid droplets in accordance with an environmental condition such as a temperature of the recording liquid. With this dedicated emission controller, the proper emission condition is set and the preheating processes and preliminary emitting processes are executed prior to starting the printing after the turn-on of the power supply of the printer, so that the printing state can be promptly and easily optimized by a simple software.

Description

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/746,217 filed Aug. 16, 1991, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/603,252 filed Oct. 25, 1990, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/455,765 filed Dec. 28, 1989, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/332,385 filed Apr. 3, 1989, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/136,441 filed Dec. 17, 1987, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 06/809,774 filed Dec. 17, 1985, all now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a liquid-discharge recording apparatus in which a liquid is emitted as liquid droplets and these droplets are deposited on a recorded material such as a paper or the like to perform recording and, more particularly, to a liquid-discharge recording apparatus in which an emission energy is given to the liquid to form flight liquid droplets.

2. Description of the Prior Art

A liquid-discharge recording method (ink-jet recording method) is a recording method whereby liquid droplets of a recording liquid are formed by various methods and these droplets are deposited on a recorded material such as a paper or the like thereby to perform the recording.

Among recording apparatuses (printers) to which such a recording method is applied, as an apparatus having a structure suitable for constituting a high-density multiorifice of the recording head, a liquid-discharge recording apparatus of the type using the heat energy to form liquid droplets (hereinafter, referred to as an ink-jet printer) can be mentioned.

Such an ink-jet printer of the type using heat as the liquid droplet emission energy generally comprises liquid droplet forming means and a recording head. Namely, the liquid droplet forming means heats the recording liquid and causes the deformation of the recording liquid accompanied with a rapid increase in volume and allows the recording liquid to be emitted from an orifice (liquid droplet emission hole) of the nozzle portion, thereby forming liquid droplets of the recording liquid. The recording head has an electrothermal energy converting device (hereinafter referred to as an emitting heater) which can generate heat to heat the recording liquid in response to an electrical signal.

On one hand, as a recording liquid which is used to record by the ink-jet printer, a water-base recording liquid is mainly used in consideration of the recording characteristic, safety, and the like. This water-base recording liquid is generally formed from the recording material component such as a pigment, dye, or the like and the water or solvent component mainly consisting of water and water soluble organic solvent in order to dissolve or disperse the recording material component.

In the foregoing printer using the heat as the liquid droplet emission energy and printers to which other liquid droplet forming methods are applied, in many cases, the orifice formed at the end of the nozzle from which the recording liquid is emitted is always open to the outside of the apparatus irrespective of whether the apparatus is driven or not.

Therefore, in the case where the apparatus is not used for recording for a long time, the solvent component of the liquid, such as, for example, water, volatile organic solvent, or the like is evaporated from the orifice into the open air from the recording liquid remaining in the orifice, and the portions near the orifice, since a water-base liquid or other solvent is used in the recording liquid as mentioned above. Thus, the recording material component and the unvolatilizable solvent component remain in the recording liquid, causing a viscosity of the recording liquid remaining in this portion to increase. Since the viscosity of the recording liquid exceeds a range suitable for emission of the recording liquid, there are problems such that immediately after the recording was restarted, in spite of the fact that an emitting signal is applied, a defective emission of liquid droplets in which no liquid droplet is emitted is likely to occur and a failure occurs in an initial printing section or the like of a recording image.

On one hand, although there have been proposed the printers in which the emission surface where the orifice is formed is capped when the apparatus is not used such as in the case where the power supply is off or the like, even if the emission surface is capped, the orifice is not perfectly shut out from the open air. Therefore, the foregoing problems are caused even in this kind of printers.

On the other hand, in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 187364/1983, there has been proposed the recording method whereby even when the liquid droplet emitting signal is not applied, an electrical signal of such a level that no recording liquid droplet is emitted is always applied to the emitting heater thereby to preheat the recording liquid in a manner such that a temperature of the recording liquid can always be maintained at a value within a predetermined range in order to obtain a good emitting state of liquid droplets for an increase in viscosity of the recording liquid at low temperatures.

Even in the printer to which the above method is applied, however, since the electrical signal is applied to the emitting heater so that the recording liquid is always maintained at high temperatures even during a relatively long interruption or stop interval of the recording operation as well, the solvent component in the recording liquid can be more easily evaporated, so that there is a problem such that the defective liquid droplet emission is further likely to occur at the restart of the recording as mentioned above. In addition, according to this method, since the peripheral portion of the emitting heater is always heated, the following problems are caused. Namely, durability of the peripheral members of the emitting heater is lost. Physical properties of the recording liquid remaining in the peripheral portion of the emitting heater change due to the heat thereof while the recording is interrupted, so that the color of the recording liquid changes or a precipitate is produced in the recording liquid and the orifice is choked, causing defective liquid droplet emission or the like.

In addition, just after the power supply of the printer was turned on, a temperature of the ink liquid regarding the recording depends on the environmental conditions such as ambient temperature and the like. Therefore, it is undesirable to start the recording by emitting the ink immediately after the turn-on of the power supply for the purpose of obtaining the stable printing state.

Therefore, it is considered to constitute the ink-jet printer in a manner such that the preliminary emission is performed before the start of the printing operation after the turn-on of the power supply and the old ink remaining in the head portion of the nozzle is preliminarily discharged and thereby optimizing the emission of the ink.

However, hitherto, the print output is carried out through an IC for a port from a microprocessing unit (MPU) for controlling each section of the printer. Therefore, according to the conventional constitution, it is extremely difficult to finely control such preliminary emission due to a problem of the processing time of the software, so that there is a problem such that the optimum preliminary emission cannot be performed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to solve such conventional problems and provide an ink-jet printer in which a dedicated controller is provided to control the emission of the heat unit and the preliminary heating and emitting processes are performed using this controller at the actuation of the printer or at the start of the printing, thereby enabling the printing state to be promptly and easily optimized.

Another object of the invention is to solve the foregoing conventional problems and provide an ink-jet printer in which the heating process is performed in conjunction with the printing operation when the environmental conditions are improper for recording, and further in the case where the next printing signal is not supplied within a predetermined period of time, the heating process is stopped and the head unit is capped, thereby preventing the evaporation of the ink and enabling the printing state to be kept in the optimum state.

Still another object of the invention is to solve the foregoing conventional problem and provide an ink-jet printer in which a dedicated controller is provided to control the emission of the head unit and a proper preliminary heating process in consideration of the environmental conditions is performed using this controller at the actuation of the printer or at the start of the printing operation, thereby enabling the printing state to be promptly and easily optimized.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a cheap apparatus in which the process to heat the recording liquid is executed when the recording head unit does not perform the recording operation, namely, the carriage driving means is stopped, thereby reducing an electric power consumption of the whole apparatus and decreasing the size of the power supply, wherein the good and stable liquid droplet emitting state is always obtained even in the case of the printing under circumstances at low temperatures or at the restart of the recording after an expiration of a long interruption or stop time of the recording operation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an ink-jet printer in which the frequency is properly set subsequent to the preliminary heating process at the actuation of the printer or at the start of the printing and then the preliminary emitting process is carried out, thereby enabling the printing state to be promptly and certainly optimized.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a liquid-discharge recording apparatus having emission controlling means according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a liquid discharge recording apparatus having heat controlling means and heating means in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating a liquid discharge recording apparatus having sequence controlling means in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating a liquid discharge recording apparatus having control means in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically illustrating a liquid discharge recording apparatus having emission controlling means, heat controlling means, sequence controlling means and heating means in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating a liquid discharge recording apparatus having capping means in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically illustrating a liquid discharge recording apparatus having sequence controlling means responsive to a recording signal in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically illustrating a liquid jet recording apparatus having pulse width setting means in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically illustrating a liquid jet recording apparatus having frequency setting means in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating a liquid jet recording apparatus having voltage setting means in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically illustrating a liquid jet recording apparatus having times of emission setting means in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a diagram schematically illustrating a liquid jet recording apparatus having heat controlling means responsive to drive means in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a diagram schematically illustrating a liquid jet recording apparatus having emission controlling means, frequency setting means and heat controlling means in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing an example of a constitution of an ink-jet printer according to the invention;

FIGS. 15A and 15B are an enlarged perspective view of a head unit in the printers shown in FIGS. 1 to 13 and an enlarged perspective view of a nozzle unit thereof, respectively;

FIGS 16, 16A and 16B are a block diagram showing an example of an internal circuit arrangement of the ink-jet printer according to the invention;

FIGS. 17A, 17A-1, 17A-2, 17A-3 and 17B are flowcharts showing an example of the printing state optimizing process procedure;

FIGS. 18 and 19 are flowcharts showing an example of preliminary heating process procedure and an example of a preliminary emitting process procedure in the processes shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B, respectively;

FIG. 20 is a waveform diagram for explaining a print output signal which is supplied to the head unit; and

FIG. 21 is a graph of characteristic curves showing the relation between the supply time and the temperature in which a frequency of the print output signal which is supplied to the head unit is used as a parameter.

Reference characters are used in the drawings in accordance with the following:

HT . . . Liquid-discharge recording unit (head unit),

C . . . Carriage,

R . . . Guide rail,

TB₁, TB₂ . . . Supply tubes,

FC . . . Flexible cable,

ST . . . Sub-tank,

CAP . . . Cap member,

P . . . Recorded material,

PL . . . Platen,

S . . . Carriage running direction,

f . . . Conveying direction of the recorded material,

H . . . Home position,

NZ . . . Nozzle unit,

FP . . . Front plate,

IR . . . Liquid chamber,

ICH . . . Ink channel,

OR . . . Orifice,

TS . . . Temperature sensor,

HTR . . . External heater,

ET . . . Emitting heater,

M₁, M₂, M₃ . . . Motors,

1 . . . programmable peripheral interface (PPI),

2 . . . Microprocessing unit (MPU),

3 . . . Line buffer RAM,

4 . . . Font generating ROM,

5 . . . Control ROM,

6 . . . Console,

7 . . . Home position sensor,

8 . . . Cap mode switch,

9 . . . Paper sensor,

10 . . . Head unit controller,

11, 14, 18, 21, 22, 24 . . . Drivers,

13 . . . Protective circuit,

15 . . . Temperature comparing device,

16 . . . Font switch,

17 . . . Input selector.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 to 13 show diagrammatical arrangement views showing whole arrangements of liquid-discharge recording apparatuses by which the objects of the present invention are accomplished, respectively.

The liquid-discharge recording apparatus of the first example shown in FIG. 1 comprises a liquid-discharge recording unit 100, recording unit controlling means 110, and emission controlling means 150. The recording unit 100 has emission energy generating means 102 which can allow energy to act on the liquid to form liquid droplets in response to an electrical signal. This recording unit emits the liquid droplets and allows them to be deposited on a recorded material P, thereby performing the recording. The controlling means 110 can set the electrical signal and supplies the electrical signal to form the liquid droplets to the emission energy generating means 102 in response to the input of a recording signal SA. The controlling means 150 sets the electrical signal to form the liquid droplets to the recording unit controlling means 110 when the power supply is turned on, thereby allowing the recording unit 100 to emit the liquid droplets.

The liquid-discharge recording apparatus of the second example shown in FIG. 2 comprises the liquid-discharge recording unit 100, recording unit controlling means 110, heating means 120, and heat controlling means 140. The recording unit 100 has the emission energy generating means 102 including an electrothermal energy converting device which can heat the liquid to form liquid droplets in response to an electrical signal. This recording unit emits these liquid droplets and allows them to be deposited on the recorded material P, thereby performing the recording. The controlling means 110 can set the electrical signal and supplies the electrical signal to form the liquid droplets to the emission energy generating means 102 in response to the input of the recording signal SA. The heating means 120 is provided in the recording unit 100 and heats the liquid from the outside. The heat controlling means 140 allows the heating means 120 to heat the liquid and/or sets an electrical signal within a range such as not to form any liquid droplet to the recording unit controlling means 110 and thereby to heat the liquid in accordance with the environmental conditions when a power supply SW is turned on.

The liquid-discharge recording apparatus of the third example shown in FIG. 3 comprises the liquid-discharge recording unit 100, recording unit controlling means 110, heating means 120, heat controlling means 140, emission controlling means 150, and sequence controlling means 160. The recording unit 100 has the emission energy generating means 102 including an electrothermal energy converting device which can heat the liquid in response to an electrical signal to form liquid droplets. This recording unit emits the liquid droplets and allows them to be deposited on the recorded material P, thereby performing the recording. The recording unit controlling means 110 can set the electrical signal and supplies the electrical signal to form the liquid droplets to the emission energy generating means 102 in response to the input of the recording signal SA. The heating means 120 is provided in the recording unit 100 and heats the liquid from the outside. The heat controlling means 140 allows the heating means 120 to heat the liquid and/or sets an electrical signal within a range such as not to form any liquid droplet to the recording unit controlling means 110 and thereby to heat the liquid in accordance with the environmental conditions. The emission controlling means 150 sets an electrical signal to form the liquid droplets to the controlling means 110, thereby allowing the recording unit 100 to emit the liquid droplets. The sequence controlling means 160 drives the heat controlling means 140 when the power supply SW is turned on and then drives the emission controlling means 150.

The liquid-discharge recording apparatus of the fourth example shown in FIG. 4 comprises the liquid-discharge recording unit 100, recording unit controlling means 110, and control means 190. The recording unit 100 has the emission energy generating means 102 which can allow energy to act on the liquid to form liquid droplets in response to the supply of an electrical signal. This recording unit emits these liquid droplets and allows them to be deposited on the recorded material P. The recording unit controlling means 110 can set the electrical signal and supplies the electrical signal to form the liquid droplets to the emission energy generating means 102 in response to the input of the recording signal SA. The control means 190 sets the electrical signal to form the liquid droplets to the recording unit controlling means 110 in response to the input of the recording signal SA in the case where the environmental conditions are proper for recording, thereby allowing the recording unit 100 to preliminarily emit the liquid droplets, and then generates a command signal.

The liquid-discharge recording apparatus of the fifth example shown in FIG. 5 comprises the liquid-discharge recording unit 100, recording unit controlling means 110, heating means 120, heat controlling means 140, emission controlling means 150, and sequence controlling means 160. The recording unit 100 has the emission energy generating means 102 including an electrothermal energy converting device which can heat the liquid to form liquid droplets in response to the supply of an electrical signal. This recording unit emits these liquid droplets and records on the recorded material P. The recording unit controlling means 110 can set the electrical signal and supplies the electrical signal to form the liquid droplets to the emission energy generating means 102 in response to a command signal to start the recording in response to the input of the recording signal SA. The heating means 120 is provided in the recording unit 100 and heats the liquid from the outside. The heat controlling means 140 allows the heating means 120 to heat the liquid and/or sets an electrical signal within a range such as not to form any liquid droplet to the recording unit controlling means 110 and thereby to heat the liquid in accordance with environmental conditions. The emission controlling means 150 sets the electrical signal to form the liquid droplets to the recording unit controlling means 110, thereby allowing the recording unit 100 to emit the liquid droplets. The sequence controlling means 160 drives the heat controlling means 140 in response to the input of the recording signal and drives the emission controlling means 150, then generates a command signal.

The liquid-discharge recording apparatus of the sixth example shown in FIG. 6 comprises the liquid-discharge recording unit 100, recording unit controlling means 110, heating means 120, capping means 180, and control means 200. The recording unit 100 has the emission energy generating means 102 which can allow an emission energy to act on the liquid to form liquid droplets in response to the supply of an electrical signal. This recording unit emits these liquid droplets, thereby recording on the recorded material P. The recording unit controlling means 110 supplies the electrical signal to form the liquid droplets to the emission energy generating means 102 in response to the input of the recording signal SA. The heating means 120 is provided in the recording unit 100 and heats the liquid from the outside. The capping means 180 can be coupled with the recording unit 100. The control means 200 instructs a heating process to the heating means 120 when the environmental conditions are improper for a recording process in conjunction with a single recording process by the recording unit 100. When the next recording signal is inputted even after an expiration of a set time after completion of the single recording process, the control means 200 instructs the stop of heating to the heating means 120 and at the same time drives the capping means 180, thereby coupling the capping means 180 with the recording unit 100.

The liquid-discharge recording apparatus of the seventh example shown in FIG. 7 comprises the liquid-discharge recording unit 100, recording unit controlling means 110, heating means 120, heat controlling means 140, emission controlling means 150, and sequence controlling means 160. The recording unit 100 has the emission energy generating means 102 including an electrothermal energy converting device which can heat the liquid to form liquid droplets in response to the supply of an electrical signal. This recording unit 100 and emits these liquid droplets, thereby recording on the recorded material P. The recording unit controlling means 110 can set the electrical signal and supplies the electrical signal to form the liquid droplets to the emission energy generating means 102 in response to the input of the recording signal SA. The heating means 120 is provided in the recording unit 100 and heats the liquid from the outside. The heat controlling means 140 allows the heating means 120 to heat the liquid and/or sets an electrical signal within a range such as not to form any liquid droplet to the recording unit controlling means 110 and thereby to heat the liquid in accordance with the environmental conditions. The emission controlling means 150 sets the electrical signal to form the liquid droplets to the recording unit controlling means 110, thereby allowing the recording unit 100 to emit the liquid droplets. The sequence controlling means 160 drives the heat controlling means 140 in response to the turn-on of the power supply SW and/or the input of the recording signal SA. After driving the heat controlling means 140, the sequence controlling means 160 stands by for a set time and then drives the emission controlling means 150.

The liquid-discharge recording apparatus of the eighth example shown in FIG. 8 comprises the liquid-discharge recording unit 100, recording unit controlling means 110, and heat controlling means 140. The recording unit 100 has the emission energy generating means 102 including an electrothermal energy converting device which can heat the liquid to form liquid droplets in response to the supply of an electrical signal. This recording unit emits these liquid droplets, thereby recording on the recorded material P. The recording unit controlling means 110 can set a pulse width of the electrical signal and supplies the electrical signal to form the liquid droplets to the emission energy generating means 102 in response to the input of the recording signal SA. The heat controlling means 140 has pulse width setting means 142 for setting a pulse width to the recording unit controlling means 110. This heat controlling means sets an electrical signal of a pulse width within a range such as not to form any liquid droplet to the recording unit controlling means 110 and thereby to heat the liquid in accordance with the environmental conditions.

The liquid-discharge recording apparatus of the ninth example shown in FIG. 9 comprises the liquid-discharge recording unit 100, recording unit controlling means 110, and heat controlling means 140. The recording unit 100 has the emission energy generating means 102 including an electrothermal energy converting device which can heat the liquid to form liquid droplets in response to the supply of an electrical signal. This recording unit emits these liquid droplets, thereby recording on the recorded material P. The recording unit controlling means 110 can set a frequency of the electrical signal and supplies the electrical signal to form the liquid droplets to the emission energy generating means 102 in response to the input of the recording signal SA. The heat controlling means 140 has frequency setting means 144 for setting a frequency to the recording unit controlling means 110. This heat controlling means sets an electrical signal which lies within a range such as not to form any liquid droplet and a frequency of which is higher than the frequency of an electrical signal upon recording to the recording unit controlling means 110 and thereby to heat the liquid in accordance with the environmental conditions.

The liquid-discharge recording apparatus of the tenth example shown in FIG. 10 comprises the liquid-discharge recording unit 100, recording unit controlling means 110, and heat controlling means 140. The recording unit 100 has the emission energy generating means 102 including an electrothermal energy converting device which can heat the liquid to form liquid droplets in response to the supply of an electrical signal. This recording unit emits these liquid droplets, thereby recording on the recorded material P. The recording unit controlling means 110 can set a voltage of the electrical signal and supplies the electrical signal to form the liquid droplets to the emission energy generating means 102 in response to the input of the recording signal SA. The heat controlling means 140 has voltage setting means 146 for setting a voltage to the recording unit controlling means 110. This heat controlling means sets an electrical signal of a voltage within a range such as not to form any liquid droplet to the recording unit controlling means 110 and thereby to heat the liquid in accordance with the environmental conditions.

The liquid-discharge recording apparatus of the eleventh example shown in FIG. 11 comprises the liquid-discharge recording unit 100, recording unit controlling means 110, and emission controlling means 150. The recording unit 100 has the emission energy generating means 102 which can allow an energy to act on the liquid to form liquid droplets in response to the supply of an electrical signal. This recording unit emits these liquid droplets, thereby recording on the recorded material P. The recording unit controlling means 110 can set the number of emission times and supplies the electrical signal to form the liquid droplets to the emission energy generating means 102 in response to the input of the recording signal SA. The emission controlling means 150 has times of emission setting means 154 for setting the number of emission times in accordance with the environmental conditions. This emission controlling means sets the electrical signal to form the flight liquid droplets to the recording unit controlling means 110, thereby allowing the recording unit 100 to preliminarily emit the liquid droplets by an amount as many as the number of emission times set.

The liquid-discharge recording apparatus of the twelfth example shown in FIG. 12 comprises the liquid-discharge recording unit 100, driving means 210, and heat controlling means 220. The recording unit 100 has the emission energy generating means 102 for allowing an energy to act on the liquid to form liquid droplets in response to the supply of an electrical signal. This recording unit emits these liquid droplets, thereby recording on the recorded material P. The driving means 210 moves the recording unit 100 in a predetermined direction with regard to the recorded paper P. The heat controlling means 220 heats the liquid existing in the recording unit 100 when the driving means 210 is stopped.

The liquid-discharge recording apparatus of the thirteenth example shown in FIG. 13 comprises the liquid-discharge recording unit 100, recording unit controlling means 110, heat controlling means 140, and emission controlling means 150. The recording unit 100 has the emission energy generating means 102 including an electrothermal energy converting device which can heat the liquid to form liquid droplets in response to the supply of an electrical signal. This recording unit emits these liquid droplets, thereby recording on the recorded material P. The recording unit controlling means 110 can set the electrical signal and supplies the electrical signal to form the liquid droplets to the emission energy generating means 102 in response to the input of the recording signal SA. The heat controlling means 140 sets an electrical signal within a range such as not to form any liquid droplet to the recording unit controlling means 110 and thereby to heat the liquid in accordance with the environmental conditions. The emission controlling means 150 has the frequency setting means 144 for setting a frequency of the electrical signal to the recording unit controlling means 110. This emission controlling means sets the electrical signal to form liquid droplets after the heating and a frequency of which is below a frequency of the electrical signal at the time of the recording thereby allowing the recording unit 100 to emit liquid droplets.

The present invention will then be described in detail hereinbelow with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of a constitution of the recording units of the ink-jet printers to which the invention can be applied, which have been shown in FIGS. 1 to 13 as the examples of arrangements, respectively. This example is applied to the ink-jet printer of the format in which a head unit is mounted to a carriage which moves in a predetermined direction with regard to a recording surface. FIGS. 15A and 15B are an enlarged diagram of the head unit in FIG. 14 and an enlarged diagram of a nozzle unit thereof, respectively.

In FIGS. 14, 15A, and 15B, HU denotes a liquid-discharge recording unit mounted on a carriage C. It is also possible to provide as many liquid-discharge recording units HU as the number of colors of inks which are used. FC indicates a flexible cable consisting of a set of signal lines to control the emission of the irk by the recording unit HU and the like.

The carriage C is fixed to, for example, a belt or the like and moves in the directions indicated by arrows S in FIG. 14 by driving means such as a motor or the like. The guide rails R guide the carriage C so that it moves in the directions S.

P denotes the recorded material such as a paper or the like which is conveyed in the direction indicated by an arrow f in FIG. 14. PL represents a platen to form the recording surface of the recording paper P. Namely, the carriage C moves in the directions S in the diagram by the driving means along the guide rails R, thereby making it possible to record on the recording surface of the recording paper P.

ST denotes a sub-tank provided in the carriage C; TB₁ is an ink supply tube for communicating a main tank (not shown) with the sub-tank ST; and TB₂ is an ink supply tube unit for communicating the sub-tank ST with a liquid chamber IR in the head unit HU.

In addition, CAP is a cap member arranged to face the recording unit HU at a home position H of the carriage C in the directions S. When the carriage C is located at the home position, the cap member CAP can move toward the recording unit HU by driving means such as a motor or the like and can abut on the emitting surface thereof. A collecting member SP abuts on the emitting surface of the recording unit HU and collects the ink and is formed of, for example, a water absorption porous material.

In FIG. 15A, BP is a base plate on and over which the supply tube unit TB₂, the liquid chamber IR, a nozzle unit NZ, the flexible cable FC, etc. are arranged and by which these components are supported. BSH denotes an elastic member for supporting the peripheral portion of the nozzle unit; FP is a front plate; TS is a temperature sensor such as a thermistor or the like to detect a temperature; and HTR is a heater consisting of, for instance, an electrothermal energy converter such as a positive characteristic thermistor or the like attached to the heat unit HU in order to heat the ink and keep it warm from the outside. TP is a heat conducting plate.

On one hand, in FIG. 15B, OR denotes an orifice serving as an ink emitting hole. In this embodiment, a predetermined number of orifices OR are vertically arranged in the nozzle unit NZ. ICH is a liquid channel for communicating the orifices OR with the liquid chamber IR. ET is an emitting heater serving as an emission energy generating device for applying thermal energy for emission to the ink existing in the liquid channel ICH.

To record using the above-mentioned recording apparatus, the ink is first supplied to the sub-tank ST from the main tank through the supply tube TB₁. Further, the liquid chamber IR and liquid channel ICH are filled with the recording liquid through the supply tube unit TB₂. Next, an electrical signal is applied to the emitting heater ET through the flexible cable FC from liquid droplet emitting signal generating means which will be explained hereinafter, thereby energizing the heater ET. Thus, the heater ET generates a heat energy and this heat energy is applied to the recording liquid existing in the liquid channel ICH near the heater ET, causing an air bubble to be produced in the recording liquid which is accompanied with an instantaneous increase in volume of the recording liquid in that portion. The recording liquid existing in the downstream portion of the emitting heater ET is emitted from the orifice OR, so that the liquid droplet of the recording liquid is formed. This recording liquid droplet is deposited on the recorded material P such as a paper or the like fed in front of the nozzle unit, so that the recording is performed.

FIG. 16 shows an example of an arrangement of a control apparatus of the ink-jet printer of the invention. For example, it is assumed that this control apparatus receives print data from a host computer and stores the print data of one line and controls a printing head by a controller of the head unit HU, thereby printing.

In FIG. 16, a programmable peripheral interface (hereinafter, referred to as a PPI) 1 first receives in parallel the print data which is sent from the host computer of the printer according to the embodiment and transmits the print data to a microprocessing unit (hereinafter, referred to as an MPU) 2. The PPI 1 also controls a console 6 and performs an inputting process of a home position sensor 7. The MPU 2 controls each section in the printer and executes a processing procedure which will be explained hereinlater. A RAM 3 serves as a line buffer memory for storing the print data received by the PPI 1 by an amount of one line. Reference numeral 4 denotes a ROM to generate fonts of print output characters, and 5 is a control ROM in which processing procedures (FIGS. 5 to 7) which are executed by the MPU 2 are stored. Those components 1 to 5 are connected through an address bus AB and a data bus DB.

The console 6 has a keyboard switch, an indicating lamp, and the like. The home position sensor 7 is disposed near the home position of the carriage C. A cap-mode sensor 8 senses the state of the cap member CAP, namely, detects whether the cap member CAP is coupled with the head unit HU or not. A paper sensor 9 detects the absence of the printing paper.

A head-unit controller 10 latches the print data and print output time and starts the print output in response to a command from the MPU 2. Namely, in this embodiment, the controller 10 is used as a dedicated integrated circuit (IC), thereby realizing a high processing speed. For example, the controller disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 162802/1984 by the same applicant as this application may be used as the controller 10. The print data which has once latched is outputted as it is, unless otherwise a change is requested.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a driver to drive the head unit HU in response to the controller 10; 13 is a protective circuit of the head unit HU; 14 a driver to drive the heater HTR for heating the ink and keeping it warm which is provided for the head unit HU; 15 a temperature comparing elements of the ink temperature sensor TS provided for the head unit HU; 16 a font switch to instruct the switching of the print font; and 17 an input selector to switch signals of the device 15 and switch 16 and is controlled by the MPU 2.

Numeral 18 denotes a driver to drive a motor M₃ for moving the cap member CAP with respect to the head unit HU; 22 and 24 are drivers to drive a motor M₁ for feeding the paper and a motor M₂ for moving the carriage, respectively; and 20 and 21 are a solenoid for a valve and a driver thereof which are used to remove the air in the head unit HU, respectively.

The outline of the processes in the case of the ink-jet printer shown in FIGS. 14 to 16 according to this embodiment will now be described. In this embodiment, when the power supply of the printer is turned on and when the printing is started, the head unit HU is subjected to a preheating process and a preliminary emitting process, thereby obtaining a good ink emitting state. In addition, the capping to the head unit HU is properly controlled in conjunction with those processes. It is assumed that the preheating process includes the execution of an external heating process and/or an internal heating process.

In this case, the external heating denotes that the ink is heated from the outside of the head unit HU by driving the heater HTR and the internal heating denotes that the ink is heated in the head unit HU by supplying a print output pulse within a range such as not to emit any ink from the head unit HU to the emission energy generating device. A print output start signal is sent to the head-unit controller 10 at every set frequency during the internal heating.

When the preheating, particularly, the internal heating is performed, it is desirable to apply a print output of proper pulse width, frequency, and voltage to the head unit HU. However, the use of the head-unit controller 10 enables the sufficient processes to be carried out even at an ordinary processing speed of the MPU. Namely, according to this embodiment, parameters of respective print outputs can be freely changed and set in accordance with the necessity, so that the head unit can be heated in the optimum manner and the software can be simplified and a high processing speed can be realized.

On one hand, even in the case of performing the preliminary emission as well, it is preferable to apply a suitable print output having a pulse width, a frequency, and a voltage as parameters to the head unit HU similarly to the above. In this embodiment, those parameters and the number of emission times are changed in accordance with the environmental conditions. The embodiment can easily cope with such a case by the software and the optimum preliminary emission can be performed. In addition, in this embodiment, all dots of the print outputs at the time of the preliminary emission are set to "1" using the head-unit controller 10. Therefore, there is no need to change the print data every time with respect to the print data in this case, so that the software can be simplified and a high processing speed can be realized.

Printing state optimizing processes in this embodiment will then be described hereinbelow.

FIGS. 17A and 17B show an example of the printing state optimizing process procedure according to the present invention.

Immediately after the turn-on of the power supply of the printer, as an initializing process, the PPI 1 and head-unit controller 10 of the hardware are initialized and, for the software, the line buffer memory RAM 3 is initialized and the operation of the control ROM 5 is checked, and the respective parameters which are used for processing are initialized (step S1).

After completion of the initializing process, the head cap motor M₃ is driven to open the head cap while monitoring the cap-mode sensor 8 by the MPU 2 (step S2). Monitoring the home position sensor 7, the carriage motor M₂ is driven to return the carriage C to the home position H (step S3). Then, monitoring the sensor 8, the cap motor M₃ is driven to close the head cap to the head unit HU (step S4). Further, the motor M₁ is driven to feed the recording paper by an amount of, e.g., one line (step S5). After those processes, the head unit HU is initialized.

In the initializing process, the preheating process (step SH) of the head unit HU is first started.

FIG. 18 shows an example of the preheating processing procedure for performing the external heating and internal heating. As mentioned above, for the internal heating, an output of a pulse width, a voltage, and a high frequency within ranges such as not to emit any ink is applied to the head unit HU from the controller 10, thereby allowing the heat to be generated in the head unit HU. For the external heating, the heater HTR provided for the head unit HU is used as a heating member and the driver 14 is turned on by the MPU 2, thereby heating the head unit HU. The external heating is started in step SH1 and the head-unit controller 10 is set into the external heating mode in step SH2. In the next step SH3, the print outputs of all dots are set to "1". The internal heating is started in step SH4. In the case of performing the internal heating, the pulse width, voltage, and frequency of the print output are properly set as will be explained herein later.

After the preheating of the head has been started in this manner, a temperature of the head unit HU is checked to see if the upper temperature of the head unit HU exceeds a constant temperature or not (step SH5). If YES, the preheating is finished. If NO, step SH6 follows and the preheating is started and a check is made to see if a predetermined time has passed after the start of the external or internal heating (step SH6). If YES in step SH6, namely, when the upper temperature does not exceed the constant temperature even after an expiration of the predetermined time, step SH7 follows. In step SH7, a command to stop the internal heating is sent to the controller 10 to prevent the head from being thermally broken, thereby stopping the internal heating. In the next step SH8, the driver 14 is turned off to stop the external heating. Namely, in this case, the preheating is stopped and the processing routine is returned to step S6 in FIG. 17A. The constant temperature on the upper side denotes the upper limit operating temperature of the head unit HU (for example, 42° C.). It will be obvious that the sequence of the start and stop of the external heating and internal heating may be changed.

Referring again to FIG. 17A, after the preheating was stopped, the apparatus stands by for a predetermined time and the temperature distribution in the head unit HU locally heated is averaged (step S6). After an elapse of the predetermined standby time, the preliminary emitting process is performed (step SJ). In the case where the sudden heating process was executed for the preheating at the time of turn-on of the power supply, the standby time may be set to a relatively long time. In this case, it may be set to, e. g. , 500 msec.

FIG. 19 shows an example of the preliminary emitting process procedure. The emission condition is first set to the head-unit controller 10 in step SJ1. Then, the print outputs of all dots are set to "1" in step SJ2. In step SJ3, the print output is applied to the head unit HU to emit the ink. This operation is repeated for a predetermined number of emission times due to the process in step SJ4. Thereafter, the processing routine is returned to step S10 in FIG. 17A and the apparatus enters the print standby state. Namely, the initializing process for the head unit HU is finished in this manner. Then, the procedure is shifted to the print standby state from the host computer. On one hand, the specified number of emission times and the parameters of the emission condition can be properly set in accordance with the environmental conditions as will be explained hereinafter.

When a printing signal is supplied from the host computer in the standby state of a printing signal (step S10), the print data is latched into the PPI 1 and transferred to the line buffer RAM 3. A signal from the temperature sensor TS provided for the head unit HU is detected by the temperature comparing device 15 and a check is made to see if the lower temperature is more than a constant temperature, e.g., higher than 20° C. or not (step S11). If YES, the head-cap motor M₃ is driven to open the cap (step S12). Then, the controller 10 is set to the ordinary printing mode to perform the preliminary emission (steps SJ; refer to FIG. 19). On the contrary, if NO in step S11, namely, when it is determined that the lower temperature is lower than the constant temperature, the cap is closed (step S13) and then the preheating process (steps SH; refer to FIG. 18) is performed. After the standby state for the predetermined time (step S15), the emission condition and the number of emission times are further set to the controller 10 and the preliminary emission is performed (steps SJ; refer to FIG. 19).

In this case, the standby time can be set to be shorter than the above-mentioned standby time when the sudden heating such as at the time of actuation of the recording unit is not performed. The constant temperature on the lower temperature side means the lower limit operating temperature of the head unit HU.

Next, the driver 14 is turned off to stop the external heating (step S16) and the apparatus enters the printing state. Namely, the heating process is not executed during the printing operation when the carriage motor M₂ is driven.

In addition, the heating process can be also performed without increasing an electric power consumption in conjunction with the printing process in step S20. Namely, during the moving operation of the carriage, when the moving direction is changed at both ends of the movement range of the carriage, the carriage C once stops at these turning points; therefore, the heating process may be executed at this time.

After the start of the printing, when the printing of, for example, one line is carried out and the carriage motor M₂ stops (step S20), a check is then made to see if the lower temperature of the head unit HU is more than the constant temperature or not (step S21). If YES, step S23 follows. If NO, the driver 14 is driven to perform the external heating (step S22) and then step S23 follows. That is, a check is made to see if the upper temperature of the head unit HU is more than the constant temperature or not (step S23). If YES, the external heating is immediately stopped (step S25). If NO, the apparatus stands by for a predetermined time (e.g., 200 msec) (step S24) and thereafter the external heating is stopped (step S25 ).

Next, as shown in FIG. 17B, the paper feed motor M₁ is driven to feed the paper (step S30) and processes in steps S31 and S32 similar to those in steps S21 and S22 are executed and then step S40 follows. Namely, the internal timer is turned on by the MPU₂ and a check is made to see if the print data has been latched in the PPI 1 within a predetermined time (for example, within five seconds) or not (steps S40 and S41). If YES, step S16 in FIG. 17A follows. If NO, the driver 14 is turned off to stop the external heating (step S42). The carriage motor M₂ is driven to return the carriage C to the home position H (step S43). Then, the cap motor M₃ is driven to close the cap (step S44) and the processing routine is returned to step S10 in FIG. 17A.

In this manner, according to this embodiment, after the preheating process has been executed, the preliminary emitting process to emit the liquid droplets which are not used for the recording is carried out. Thus, the recording interruption or stop interval becomes very long and even in the case where the viscosity of the recording liquid remarkably increases due to the evaporation of the solvent component as well, the emitting operation upon printing can be optimized. That is, the portion of a high viscosity of the recording liquid is first heated due to the preheating process and its temperature increases, so that the viscosity of the recording liquid is reduced to a value such that the liquid droplets can be emitted. By subsequently performing the preliminary emitting process in this state, the recording liquid in this portion is drained to the outside of the liquid channel ICH, so that the recording liquid a viscosity of which lies within a range suitable to emit is supplied to the portion near the emitting heater ET and thereafter the good emitting state of the recording liquid is derived. To confirm stability of this emitting state, the applicant of this application has performed the following experiments.

Experiment Using the Embodiment

The ink-jet printer according to this embodiment having the recording head unit as shown in FIG. 15B was used, in which twenty-four orifices (a diameter of each orifice is 50×40 μm) are vertically arranged in a line at regular intervals of 0.141 mm in the recording head unit. This recording apparatus was filled with the recording liquid containing the following compositions. At the restart of the recording after an expiration of the recording interruption period of twelve hours under circumstances at 25° C. and 30% RH, the signal of a voltage 23.5 V, a pulse width 5 μsec, and a frequency 10 kHz was applied to the emitting heater ET when the preheating was performed. Next, the signal of a voltage 23.5 V, a pulse width 10 μsec, and a frequency 2 kHz was applied to the emitting heater ET by an amount of a hundred pulses, thereby emitting the liquid droplets which are not used for recording. The recording apparatus regarding the defective emission after the recording interruption was evaluated by measuring the number of liquid droplets which were not emitted in response to the recording signal until the liquid droplets of the recording liquid for use in the recording have been emitted from all of twenty-four orifices. The result is shown in Table 1.

The compositions of the recording liquid used for recording are as follows.

C.I. direct black 19: 2 weight part

Diethylene glycol: 30 weight part

Water: 70 weight part

Experiment Using the Comparison Example

The recording apparatus having a constitution similar to the embodiment and in which only an electrical signal to emit recording liquid droplets for use in recording is applied to the emitting heater upon recording was used. This recording apparatus was filled with the above-mentioned recording liquid. At the restart of the recording after an expiration of the recording interruption period of twelve hours under circumstances at 25° C. and 30% RH, only the electrical signal of a voltage 23.5 V, a pulse width 10 μsec, and a frequency 2 kHz to emit liquid droplets was applied to the emitting heater and the recording was performed. The recording apparatus after the recording interruption with regard to the defective emission was evaluated in a manner similar to the experiment using the embodiment. The result is shown in Table 1.

              TABLE 1                                                     
______________________________________                                    
        The number of liquid droplets                                     
                          Recording                                       
        which are not emitted until                                       
                          interruption                                    
        the liquid droplets are emitted                                   
                          period                                          
        from all of 24 orifices                                           
                          time                                            
______________________________________                                    
Embodiment                                                                
          0                   12                                          
Comparison                                                                
          The liquid droplets were not                                    
example   emitted from two of 24                                          
                              12                                          
          orifices.                                                       
______________________________________

It will be understood from Table 1 that even at the restart of the recording after the elapse of such a particularly long recording interruption or stop period, good and stable emitting state of liquid droplets can always be obtained.

Next, an explanation will be made with respect to the setting of the parameters of the pulse width, frequency, voltage, etc. of the print output in the preheating process and preliminary emitting process.

The degree of deviation of the viscosity of the recording liquid existing in the liquid channel ICH, particularly, near the orifices OR from the proper range due to the recording interruption or stop period individually differs in dependence on the characteristic of the apparatus which is used, the physical property of the recording liquid, the environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity, and the like of the location where the apparatus is installed and used, and the like. Thus, the parameters of the print output in the preheating process, particularly, in the internal heating process are suitably selected in accordance with the individual apparatuses and their use conditions.

On one hand, the signal which is supplied to the emitting heater ET in the preliminary emitting process is applied under the conditions such that the recording liquid whose viscosity is out of a range suitable to emit the liquid droplets upon recording can be emitted and removed to the outside of the liquid channel ICH.

Further, the number of emission times in the preliminary emitting process can be varied in accordance with the environmental conditions at that time, thereby enabling the process to be efficiently executed.

FIG. 20 shows an electrical signal which is applied to the emitting heater ET. In this diagram, V₀ denotes a voltage and w_i is a pulse width. When the signal is supplied to the emitting heater ET in the preheating process, if bubbles are produced due to the heating, there might have occurred the case where the subsequent emission of liquid droplets becomes unstable or no droplet is emitted in the worst case. Therefore, the electrical signal which is applied to the emitting heater ET upon preheating must lie within a range such as not to produce any bubble on the emitting heater ET.

On the other hand, since those preheating processes are set when the power supply of the printer is turned on and when the printing is started, the preheating is fairly frequently executed. Therefore, the deterioration in durability of the emitting heater ET due to those preheating processes must be avoided. The inventors of this application have studied the durability of the emitting heater ET when an electric power (W) which is applied to the emitting heater ET was kept constant and the pulse width w_i and applied voltage v₀ in the preheating processes using the emitting heater ET were changed. Thus, it was confirmed that the durability of the heater ET is improved as the pulse width w_i and applied voltage v₀ are small.

On the other hand, the time required to heat the head unit HU to a desired temperature is determined by the electric power (W) which is applied to the emitting heater ET. However, as the actual performance of the recording apparatus, it is desirable that the time needed until the printing is started, namely, the waiting time is as short as possible.

In spite of such a purpose, it is undesirable to thoughtlessly increase the voltage which is applied to the emitting heater ET in terms of the durability of the heater as mentioned above. Further, since the production of a bubble on the emitting heater ET upon preheating causes the subsequent defective printing state or non-emission, it is difficult to increase the pulse width as well.

Therefore, to raise the temperature of the head unit to a desired temperature for a short time and within a range such that the preheating processes do not influence the durability of the emitting heater ET and no bubble is produced on the heater, it is effective to increase the frequency of the electrical signal which is supplied to the emitting heater ET.

FIG. 21 shows an example of the relation between the time (minute) and the head temperature (°C.), in which the frequency of the preheating signal which is applied to the emitting heater ET is used as a parameter. In this example, the applied voltage v₀ was set to 24 V the pulse width w_i was set to 5 μsec, and the frequency was set to 10 kHz, 5 kHz, and 2 kHz. The head temperature was detected by the temperature sensor TS.

The applicant of this application has performed the following two experiments by changing the voltage, pulse width, and frequency from the viewpoints mentioned above.

EXAMPLE 1

The ink-jet printer according to the embodiment having the nozzle unit NZ as shown in FIG. 15B in which twenty-four orifices (a diameter of each orifice is 50×40 μm) are vertically arranged in a line at regular intervals of 0.141 mm was used. The recording apparatus was filled with the recording liquid having compositions similar to the above. The electrical signal was supplied to the emitting heater ET under the conditions as shown in Table 2 and the preheating was performed.

Presence and absence of production of bubbles were checked by observing on the heater using an optical microscope. The result is shown in Table 2.

              TABLE 2                                                     
______________________________________                                    
Applying conditions                                                       
when recording                                                            
                         Pulse                                            
Voltage        Frequency width                                            
______________________________________                                    
24 V           2 kHz     10 μs                                         
______________________________________                                    
Applying conditions when preheating                                       
                                    Production of                         
                   Pulse    Applying                                      
                                    bubbles on                            
Voltage Frequency  width    time    the heater                            
______________________________________                                    
26V      3.7 kHz    5.0 μs                                             
                            15s     Bubbles were                          
                                    produced                              
24V      2.7 kHz    7.5 μs                                             
                            15s     Bubbles were                          
                                    produced                              
24V     10 kHz      2.0 μs                                             
                            15s     No bubble                             
15V      5.0 kHz   10 μs 15s     No bubble                             
10V     11.6 kHz   10 μs 15s     No bubble                             
______________________________________                                    
 (These conditions are determined by setting the electric power consumptio
 constant.)

EXAMPLE 2

The ink-jet printer similar to (Example 1) was used and the recording apparatus was filled with the recording liquid containing the foregoing compositions. The signal was applied to the emitting heater ET under the conditions as shown in Table 3. The preheating processes were repeated to examine the durability of the heater ET. The result is shown in Table 3.

              TABLE 3                                                     
______________________________________                                    
Preheating                                                                
                                      Number                              
                               Number of                                  
                         Apply-                                           
                               of     disconnection                       
                 Pulse   ing   repetition                                 
                                      of the                              
Voltage                                                                   
       Frequency width   time  times  heater                              
______________________________________                                    
24V    10 kHz     2.0 μs                                               
                         15 sec                                           
                               10.sup.5                                   
                                      Nil                                 
15V     5.0 kHz  10 μs                                                 
                         "     "      Nil                                 
10V    11.6 kHz  10 μs                                                 
                         "     "      Nil                                 
______________________________________

It will be understood from Table 3 that the pulse width of the electrical signal which is supplied to the emitting heater ET in the preheating processes is preferably set to be smaller than that of the electrical signal upon recording. As the result of further detailed experiments by the present applicant, it has been found that it is desired to set the pulse width to be a width within a range of 1 to 1/20 of the pulse width upon recording.

In addition, it will be appreciated that it is preferable to set the applied voltage of the electrical signal which is supplied to the emitting heater ET in the preheating processes to be equal or lower than the applied voltage upon recording.

Moreover, by setting the frequency of the electrical signal in the preheating processes to be higher than that upon recording, the time required for heating can be reduced.

Those parameters and the number of pulses can be very easily set by using the controller 10 as mentioned above.

The emission condition in the preliminary emitting processes will then be explained.

In the case where the recording has been interrupted or stopped for a long time, the viscosity of the ink remaining in and near the orifices OR increases due to the evaporation of the water and volatile organic solvent and the like, so that the ink is less likely to be emitted. Although the viscosity of the residual ink can be reduced due to the above-mentioned preheating processes, its viscosity is higher than the ink fitted for recording and the sizes, speeds, and the like of the liquid droplets differ and this residual ink is improper for recording. Therefore, in this embodiment, the preliminary emission is carried out subsequent to the preheating.

Upon preliminary emitting processes, the ink is not always emitted in response to the first pulse of the signal which is applied to the emitting heater ET at that time. Therefore, by increasing the energy of the signal upon preliminary emission than the energy of the signal upon printing and by varying the emitting time in accordance with the environmental conditions, the time required for the preliminary emission can be reduced and a high efficient emission can be realized.

The increase in the energy of the signal upon preliminary emission may be accomplished by practically increasing the voltage and/or pulse width than those upon recording. Namely, assuming that the voltage and pulse width of the signal which is applied to the emitting heater ET upon printing are respectively 24 V and 10 μsec, the voltage and/or pulse width of the signal upon preliminary emission may be set to be larger than those values. According to the experiments by the present applicant, the good result was obtained when the voltage was set to be one to five times, preferably, one to two times larger than that upon printing and the pulse width was likewise set to be one to five times, preferably, one to two times larger than that upon printing.

With respect to the emitting time, it is desirable to set the number of emission times, namely, the number of pulses in accordance with the environmental conditions. According to the experiments by the present applicant, in the preliminary emission (steps SJ subsequent to step S6 in FIG. 17A) before the start of the printing after the turn-on of the power supply, when 100 to 150 pulses were applied to the emitting heater ET, a good printing quality could be derived after that. After the start of the printing, the viscosity of the ink is high at low temperatures and the emission is more difficult to become stable as compared with the case at high temperatures; therefore, it is preferable to properly set the number of ink emission times. According to the experiments by the present applicant, in the preliminary emission when the lower temperature is more than the constant temperature (e.g., 20° C.) (when YES in step S11 in FIG. 17A), it has been confirmed that the stable emission was obtained when 20 to 50 pulses were applied to the emitting heater ET. On the contrary, in the preliminary emission when the lower temperature is lower than the constant temperature (when NO in step S11), the stable emission was derived when 50 to 100 pulses were applied to the heater ET.

The emission conditions in those preliminary emitting processes can be also easily set by using the controller 10 upon processing. The processes can be properly executed at a high speed without increasing the burden of the MPU 2.

On the other hand, if the region where the printer according to this embodiment is used is limited and is preliminarily and clearly known, the number of emission times can be also changed for every region. For example, in the region at a high temperature and at a low humidity, the temperature is always high and the ink is remarkably dried. Therefore, an amount of preliminary emission on the upper temperature side is increased relative to that on the lower temperature side to stabilize the emission of the ink. Also, by changing the above-mentioned numeric values of the number of emission times, the stable ink emission can be derived.

Although the ink-jet printer of the type in which the head unit is mounted on the carriage has been described in this embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this but may be apparently applied to the ink-jet printer of what is called a full-multi type in which a plurality of head units are arranged in the direction of width of the recording paper.

In addition, the respective parameters in the preheating processes and the respective parameters and the number of emission times in the preliminary emitting processes have been set in accordance with the temperature condition as mentioned in the embodiment. However, the invention is not limited to this method but can be also applied to the method whereby, for example, those parameters and the number of emission times are set in accordance with the environmental conditions such as humidity, pressure, or the like.

Moreover, although the electrothermal energy converting device was used as the emission energy generating means in this embodiment, for example, a piezoelectric element may be used.

As described above, according to the present invention, before the start of the printing after the turn-on of the power supply, the proper emission condition is set to the head-unit controller and the preliminary emitting processes are performed. Therefore, there is an effect such that it is possible to realize a liquid-discharge recording apparatus in which the software can be simplified and the printing state can be promptly and easily optimized.

In addition, the invention also has an effect such that the emission condition can be easily changed.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A liquid-discharge recording apparatus comprising:

a liquid-discharge recording unit having emission energy generating means for providing energy to act on a liquid to heat said liquid and to form at least one liquid droplet in response to a record signal having a voltage, a frequency, and a pulse width, said recording unit being capable of emitting the at least one liquid droplet when said record signal is supplied to said emission energy generating means;

dedicated recording unit controlling means connected to said liquid-discharge recording unit for setting said record signal voltage, frequency, and pulse width, and for supplying said record signal to said emission energy generating means in response to a command signal; and

processing means, separate from said recording unit controlling means and connected to said liquid-discharge recording unit through said dedicated recording unit controlling means, for providing said command signal to said dedicated recording unit controlling means when a power supply is turned on, thereby causing said dedicated recording unit controlling means to set said record signal voltage, frequency, and pulse width to cause said liquid-discharge recording unit to preliminarily emit at least one liquid droplet prior to emission of liquid droplets for deposit on a recording medium to perform a record operation.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said processing means includes means for causing said liquid-discharge recording unit to preheat prior to a record operation.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said processing means includes means to cause (1) said record signal frequency to be higher during the preheat operation than during a record operation, (2) said record signal voltage to be equal or smaller during the preheat operation than during the record operation, and (3) said record signal pulse width to be equal or smaller during the preheat operation than during the record operation.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said processing means includes means to cause (1) said record signal voltage to be equal or higher during the preliminary emission than during a record operation, and (2) the record signal pulse width to be equal or larger during the preliminary emission operation than during the record operation.

5. A liquid-discharge recording apparatus comprising:

a liquid discharge recording unit having emission energy generating means for providing energy to act on a liquid to heat said liquid and to form at least one liquid droplet in response to a record signal having a voltage, a frequency, and a pulse width, said recording unit being capable of emitting the at least one liquid droplet when said record signal is supplied to said emission energy generating means;

dedicated recording unit controlling means connected to said liquid-discharge recording unit for setting said record signal voltage, frequency, and pulse width, and for supplying said record signal to said emission energy generating means in response to a command signal;

environmental sensing means connected to said liquid-discharge recording unit for sensing an environmental condition of said liquid-discharge recording unit; and

processing means, connected to said environmental sensing means and to said dedicated recording unit controlling means, for providing said command signal to said dedicated recording unit controlling means when said environmental sensing means senses that the environmental condition is proper for recording, thereby causing said liquid-discharge recording unit to preliminarily emit at least one liquid droplet prior to emission of liquid droplets for deposit on a recording medium to perform a record operation.

6. A liquid-discharge recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said environmental condition is a temperature of said liquid.

7. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said processing means includes means for causing said liquid-discharge recording unit to preheat prior to a record operation.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said processing means includes means to cause (1) said record signal frequency to be higher during the preheat operation than during a record operation, (2) said record signal voltage to be equal or smaller during the preheat operation than during the record operation, and (3) said record signal pulse width to be equal or smaller during the preheat operation than during the print operation.

9. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said processing means includes means to cause (1) said record signal voltage to be equal or higher during the preliminary emission than during a record operation, and (2) said record signal pulse width to be equal or larger during the preliminary emission operation than during the record operation.

10. A liquid-discharge recording apparatus comprising:

environmental sensing means connected to said liquid-discharge recording unit for sensing an environmental condition of said liquid-discharge recording unit;

dedicated recording unit controlling means connected to said liquid-discharge recording unit for setting said record signal voltage, frequency and pulse width, and for supplying said record signal to said emission energy generating means solely in response to a command signal; and

processing means, connected to said environmental sensing means and to said dedicated recording unit controlling means, having means for setting a number of emissions to be caused by said record signal in accordance with the sensed environmental condition, thereby causing said dedicated recording unit controlling means to set said record signal voltage, frequency, and pulse width to cause said liquid-discharge recording unit to preliminarily emit a number of liquid droplets equal to said set number of emission times, said preliminary emission droplets occurring prior to emission of liquid droplets for deposit on a recording medium to perform a record operation.

11. A liquid-discharge recording apparatus according to claim 10 wherein said environmental condition is a temperature of said liquid.

12. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said processing means includes means for causing said liquid-discharge recording unit to preheat prior to a record operation.

13. An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said processing means includes means to cause (1) said record signal frequency to be higher during the preheat operation than during a record operation, (2) said record signal voltage to be equal or smaller during the preheat operation than during the record operation, and (3) said record signal pulse width to be equal or smaller during the preheat operation than during the print operation.

14. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said processing means includes means to cause (1) said record signal frequency to be equal or higher during the preliminary emission than during a record operation, and (2) said record signal pulse width to be equal or larger during the preliminary emission operation than during the record operation.

15. A liquid-discharge recording apparatus comprising:

a liquid-discharge recording unit having emission energy generating means including an electrothermal energy converting device for providing heat to a liquid to heat said liquid and to form at least one liquid droplet in response to a record signal having a voltage, a frequency and a pulse width, said recording unit being capable of emitting the at least one liquid droplet when said record signal is supplied to said electrothermal energy converting device;

dedicated recording unit controlling means connected to said liquid-discharge recording unit for setting said record signal voltage, frequency, and pulse width and for supplying said record signal to said emission energy generating means solely in response to a command signal;

heat controlling means connected to said environmental sensing means for commanding said dedicated recording unit controlling means to set the record signal voltage, frequency, and pulse width so as not to emit a liquid droplet, thereby heating said liquid in accordance with the sensed environmental condition; and

processing means, connected to said heat controlling means and to said dedicated recording unit controlling means, having frequency setting means for setting a frequency of the command signal provided to said dedicated recording unit controlling means, said processing means setting a frequency of the command signal after said heat controlling means causes said heating of said liquid, the frequency of the command signal being below a frequency of said command signal at a time of recording, thereby causing said liquid-discharge recording unit to preliminarily emit at least one liquid droplet prior to emission of liquid droplets for deposit on a recording medium to perform a record operation.

16. A liquid discharge printing apparatus comprising:

liquid-discharge recording means for discharging a printing liquid in response to a record signal having a voltage, a frequency, and a pulse width;

heating means connected to said liquid-discharge recording means for applying heat to said liquid-discharge recording means;

driving means connected to said liquid-discharge recording means for driving said liquid-discharge recording means;

dedicated controller means connected to said driving means for setting said record signal voltage, frequency and pulse width, and for providing said record signal to said driving means in response to a command signal; and

processing means, separate from said dedicated controller means and connected to said dedicated controller means and said heating means, for providing said command signal to said dedicated controller means wherein (1) said heating means preheats said liquid-discharge recording means, and (2) said dedicated controller means sets said record signal voltage, frequency, and pulse width to cause said liquid-discharge recording means to provide preliminary emission of liquid droplets prior to emission of liquid droplets for deposit on a recording medium to perform a record operation.

17. An apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said processing means includes means to cause (1) said frequency to be higher during the preheat operation than during the print operation, (2) said voltage to be equal or smaller during the preheat operation than during the print operation, and (3) said pulse width to be equal or smaller during the preheat operation than during the print operation.

18. An apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said processing means includes means to cause (1) said voltage to be equal or higher during the preliminary emission than during the print operation, and (2) said pulse width to be equal or larger during the preliminary emission operation than during said print operation.

19. An apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said processing means includes means to cause said preheat of said liquid-discharge recording means prior to said preliminary emission of said printing liquid.

20. An apparatus according to claim 16, further including environmental condition monitoring means coupled to said processing means, and wherein said record signal includes a plurality of pulses, and wherein said processing means includes means for varying the number of record signal pulses in accordance with the detected environmental conditions.

21. A liquid-discharge recording apparatus for emitting a liquid for recording on a recording medium in response to input recording data, said apparatus comprising:

a recording unit including an emission energy generating means for applying energy to the liquid according to an electrical signal so that a liquid droplet can be formed;

a microprocessing unit for processing according to a program stored in a memory the input recording data to output a recording signal for the liquid droplet emission from said recording unit, said microprocessing unit being operable in a preliminary emission mode and a recording control mode; and

a controller coupled between said microprocessing unit and said recording unit and being operable in a set liquid droplet emission condition and said controller for supplying said emission energy generating means with the electrical signal according to the emission condition set thereby for emission control, wherein said microprocessing unit sets within said controller in the preliminary emission mode an emission condition for preliminary emission of the liquid, so that said controller controls preliminary emission, and wherein said microprocessing unit sets the recording signal in said controller in the recording control mode, so that said controller controls the liquid droplet emission for recording.

22. An apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said microprocessing unit executes the preliminary emission mode during initiation of power supplying.

23. An apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said microprocessing unit executes the preliminary emission mode according to an environmental condition.

24. An apparatus according to claim 21, wherein in the preliminary emission mode, said microprocessing unit effects liquid emission from said recording unit at times according to an environmental condition.

25. An apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said controller is capable of conditioning the electrical signal, and said microprocessing unit sets, for the preliminary emission mode, within said controller, the electrical signal with a condition of energy greater than that during recording, thereby emitting a liquid droplet from said recording unit.

26. An apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said emission energy generating means includes an electrothermal energy converting device for heating the liquid according to the supplied electrical signal so that the liquid droplet can be formed.

27. An apparatus according to claim 21, further comprising feed means for feeding the recording medium.

28. An apparatus according to claim 21, further comprising scanning means for scanning said recording unit.

29. A liquid-discharge recording apparatus for emitting a liquid for recording on a recording medium in response to input printing data, said apparatus comprising:

a recording unit having an emission energy generating means for applying energy to the liquid according to a supplied electrical signal so that a liquid droplet can be formed;

a microprocessing unit for processing according to a program stored in a memory the input printing data for outputting a recording signal for emitting a liquid droplet from said recording unit, said microprocessing unit being operable in a preliminary emission mode and a recording control mode;

a controller coupled between said microprocessing unit and said recording unit and being operable in a set liquid droplet emission condition and said controller for supplying said emission energy generating means with the electrical signal according to the emission condition set thereby for emission control; and

a sensor for sensing an environmental condition, wherein said microprocessing unit sets within said controller, a droplet emission condition for preliminarily emitting the liquid droplet in the preliminary emission mode, so that said controller performs preliminary emission control, wherein said microprocessing unit sets the recording signal in said controller in the recording control mode so that said controller effects emission of the liquid droplet from said recording unit according to the recording signal, and wherein said microprocessing unit judges whether the environmental condition sensed by said sensor at an initiation of recording is suitable for recording, and when the environmental condition is suitable, said microprocessing unit executes the preliminary emission mode, and then executes the recording control mode.

30. An apparatus according to claim 29, wherein said recording unit includes a heater for controlling a temperature of the liquid,

said microprocessing unit effects a heat control mode during which said heater heats the liquid, and

when the condition is not suitable for recording, the heating control mode is executed.

31. An apparatus according to claim 30, wherein said microprocessing unit stops the heat control mode when, even if the heat control mode is performed at a predetermined time period, the environmental condition is not suitable for recording.

32. An apparatus according to claim 30, wherein said microprocessing unit stops the heat control mode and caps the recording unit when the printing data has not been inputted for a predetermined time period.

33. An apparatus according to claim 29, wherein said emission energy generating means includes an electrothermal conversion device capable of heating the liquid according to the supplied electrical signal to form a liquid droplet.

34. An apparatus according to claim 29, further comprising feed means for feeding the recording medium.

35. An apparatus according to claim 29, further comprising scanning means for scanning said recording unit.

36. A liquid-discharge recording method for emitting a liquid for recording on a recording medium in response to input recording data, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a recording unit including emission energy generating means for applying energy to the liquid according to an electrical signal;

providing a microprocessing unit for processing according to a program stored in a memory the input recording data to output a recording signal for liquid droplet emission from said recording unit;

providing a controller coupled between the microprocessing unit and the recording unit and being operable in a set liquid droplet emission condition, and the controller for supplying the emission energy generating means with the electrical signal according to the emission condition set thereby for emission control;

operating the microprocessing unit to set in the controller an emission condition for preliminary emission of the liquid, so as to preliminarily emit the liquid droplet from said recording unit; and

operating the microprocessing unit to set the recording signal in the controller, so as to emit the liquid droplet for recording from the recording unit.

37. An apparatus according to claim 36, wherein the emission energy generating means includes an electrothermal energy converting device for heating the liquid according to the supplied electrical signal so that the liquid droplet can be formed.

38. A liquid-discharge recording method for emitting liquid for recording on a recording medium in response to input recording data, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a recording unit having emission energy generating means for applying energy to the liquid according to a supplied electrical signal;

providing a microprocessing unit for processing according to a program stored in a memory the input printing data for outputting a recording signal for emitting a liquid droplet from the recording unit, the microprocessing unit operable in a preliminary emission mode and a recording control mode;

operating the microprocessing unit to set in the controller a droplet emission condition for preliminarily emitting the liquid droplet, so as to preliminarily emit the liquid droplet from the recording unit;

operating the microprocessing unit to set the recording signal in the controller so as to emit the liquid droplet for recording from the recording unit;

judging whether an environmental condition at an initiation of recording is suitable for recording; and

executing the preliminary emission mode, and then executing the recording control mode by the microprocessing unit, when the environmental condition is suitable.

39. A method according to claim 38, wherein the emission energy generating means includes an electrothermal conversion device capable of heating the liquid according to the supplied electrical signal to form a liquid droplet.